OK, I didn’t really see any dead people but I was granted the rare privilege, thanks to Hana Alberts of NY Curbed, to have my run of the historic and oh-so-amazing architecture and grounds of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Rather than spend a lot of time and, well, just time, to write stuff about the Green-Wood Cemetery, I thought I would just lift the entire and exceptionally well-written piece as it appeared on the NY Curbed article.
Here’s what Curbed had to say:
“In the 1860’s, Green-Wood Cemetery was the second most popular tourist attraction in the United States, after Niagara Falls, receiving 500,000 visitors a year.
The scores of folks who passed through those grand Gothic gates didn’t always treat it as a somber burial ground, though-it was a green lung ideal for leisure activities, like promenading and even debauchery-filled parties in a not-yet-occupied mausoleum. Today, the cemetery’s 478 acres hold not only 560,000 permanent residents (including greats like composer Leonard Bernstein and artist Jean-Michel Basquiat) and the highest point in Brooklyn, but also an endless number of beautiful pockets that sometimes go unnoticed. Opened in 1838, Green-Wood houses a mind-boggling array of 19th-20th-century statues and mausoleums-all of which is outdoors, and much of which is easily glossed over, perhaps because of the sheer size of the place. From columns of all stripes to angel sculptures in every pose, embellished archways to enigmatic inscriptions, the cemetery remains one of New York City’s most special al fresco spaces.”
Green-Wood Cemetery is such a desirable and idyllic destination that people are dying to get in. OK, so kill me for that one but I just couldn’t resist.
Enjoy the gallery.
Bob Estremera